Bede

Now, Herod the tetrarch heard all that was done by Him, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead. How great was the envy of the Jews, who, with fury of malice against the Lord, we are taught in almost every place of the Gospel. Behold John, of whom it was said that he performed no sign, yet they believed he could have risen from the dead without any witness; but Jesus, proven by God with powers and signs, at whose death the elements trembled, and whose resurrection and ascension were declared by angels, apostles, and men and women alike, they preferred to believe was not risen, but was stolen away secretly. Nor should it be thought to contradict that Luke recounts that Herod was perplexed because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead: when Matthew and Mark report that Herod himself, having heard of Jesus' fame, said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him (Matt. 14); but it must be understood that after this perplexity, he confirmed in his mind what was being said by others.

And Herod said: I beheaded John. But who is this about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him. These are the words of the hesitant Herod, mentioned above. Because he desires to see one whom he discovered to be great by reputation, perhaps to recognize if he might be John himself. The sequence and cause of his beheading, since the Evangelists describe it most fully, Luke in his manner prefers to mention to indicate the state of the times, rather than to repeat what he sees is abundantly said. However, because there is mention of John's beheading, it should be noted, that both John and the Lord declare their own state and order both at the time of birth and by the order of their passion. For John was diminished by the head, the Lord was elevated on the cross. John was born when the days began to decrease, the Lord when they began to increase. As this appears too, it is that "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3), that is, it must be recognized that He, who was considered a prophet, is Christ: and I, who was thought to be Christ, must be understood as His forerunner.

And he withdrew, having taken them apart, to a deserted place called Bethsaida. He did not act out of fear of death, as some think, but sparing his enemies, lest they add murder to murder, and also waiting for the opportune time of his passion, for anyone who has carefully read the Gospels will find that the passions of John and the Lord were separated by more than a year. Indeed, the Lord performed the miracle of the loaves, according to three agreeing evangelists, after the beheading of John. John, about to describe this miracle, mentions that it was near the Passover, the feast day of the Jews; and after these events, Jesus is said to have gone up to the feast of their Tabernacles. There, while he was teaching in the temple, they sought to apprehend him, but no one laid hands on him because his hour had not yet come (John 7); and then during the time of the next Passover he completed the triumph of the cross. Thus, after John was killed, waiting for the time, he retreated apart to a deserted place called Bethsaida: mystically teaching that having left behind Judea, which, by not believing in prophecy, had lost its head, he would lavish the nourishment of the word in the desert of the Church, which had no husband. Hence, beautifully, Bethsaida is interpreted as the house of fruits. For it is the one about which Isaiah said: The desert and the parched land shall be glad; the wilderness shall rejoice and blossom like the lily (Isa. 35); and a little later: They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God (Isa. 35). Bethsaida is, however, in Galilee, the city of the apostles Andrew and Peter and Philip, near the lake of Gennesaret, as we find in the books of places.

But they not only tell Him what they had done and taught, but also, as Matthew implies, the things which John suffered while they were occupied in teaching, are now repeated to Him either by His own, or, according to Matthew, by John's disciples. (Matt. 14:12.)

Now Bethsaida is in Galilee, the city of the Apostles Andrew, Peter, and Philip, near the lake of Gennesaret. Our Lord did not this from fear of death, (as some think,) but to spare His enemies, lest they should commit two murders, waiting also for the proper time for His own sufferings.

But He as the powerful and merciful Saviour by receiving the weary, by teaching the ignorant, curing the sick, filling the hungry, implies how He was pleased with their devotion; as it follows, And he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, &c.

Who Himself having left Judæa, which by unbelief had bereft herself of the source of prophecy, in the desert of the Church which had no husband, dispenses the food of the word. But many companies of the faithful leaving the city of their former manner of life, and their various opinions, follow Christ into the deserts of the Gentiles.

Now when the day was going down, he refreshes the multitudes, that is, as the end of the world approaches, or when the Sun of righteousness sets for us.

The Apostles had only got but the five loaves of the Mosaic law, and the two fishes of each covenant, which were covered in the secret place of obscure mysteries, as in the waters of the deep. But because men have five external senses, the five thousand men who followed the Lord signify those who still live in worldly ways, knowing well how to use the external things they possess. For they who entirely renounce the world are raised aloft in the enjoyment of His Gospel feast. But the different divisions of the guests, indicate the different congregations of Churches throughout the world, which together compose the one Catholic.

Now our Saviour does not create new food for the hungry multitudes, but He took those things which the disciples had and blessed them, since coming in the flesh He preaches nothing else than what had been foretold, but demonstrates the words of prophecy to be pregnant with the mysteries of grace; He looks towards heaven, that thither He may teach us to direct the eye of the mind, there to seek the light of knowledge; He breaks and distributes to the disciples to be placed before the multitude, because He revealed to them the Sacraments of the Law and the Prophets that they might preach them to the world.

Or by the twelve baskets the twelve Apostles are figured, and all succeeding teachers, despised indeed by men without, but within loaded with the fragments of saving food.

When the crowds learned of it, they followed him. And he welcomed them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed care. The Lord tests the faith of the crowds, and rewards the proven faith with a worthy reward. By seeking the solitude, he explores whether they care to follow. These, by following and not using beasts of burden or various vehicles, but as some Evangelists tell, initiating the journey into the desert by the labor of their own feet, show how much they care for their salvation. Again, the Lord himself, as a powerful and merciful savior and healer, by welcoming the fatigued, teaching the ignorant, healing the sick, and feeding the hungry, suggests how much he delights in the devotion of believers. According to the laws of allegory, Christ, seeking the deserts of the Gentiles, is followed by many troops of the faithful, leaving behind the walls of ancient life and neglecting the protection of various doctrines. And he who was first known as God in Judea, after the teeth of the Jews became weapons and arrows, and their tongue was made a sharp sword against him. "Be exalted above the heavens, O God, and let your glory be over all the earth" (Psalm LVI).